J-M Manufacturing Co. v. Phillips & Cohen
Annotate this CasePhillips & Cohen, a law firm, issued a celebratory press release following the verdict in false claims act litigation in which the jury found J-M had knowingly misrepresented to Phillips & Cohen’s governmental clients that its PVC pipe had been manufactured and tested in a manner that assured it had the strength and durability required by applicable industry standards. J-M filed suit against the law firm for defamation and trade libel. The trial court denied Phillips & Cohen’s special motion to strike the complaint under Code of Civil Procedure section 425.16 (the anti-SLAPP statute), finding it was a question of fact for the jury whether the press release was privileged as a fair and true report of a judicial proceeding within the meaning of section 47, subdivision (d). The court concluded that the trial court erred in denying the special motion to strike where J-M failed to establish a likelihood it would prevail on the merits of its defamation and trade libel claims. In this case, Phillips & Cohen's description of the evidence at trial and the jury’s special verdict in the press release falls comfortably within the permissible degree of flexibility and literary license afforded communications to the media concerning judicial proceedings. The court found the substance of its report was accurate and the release was privileged under section 47, subdivision (d). Accordingly, the court reversed and remanded.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.